Controlling structure induced variations in non-invasive perfusion MRI of neurodegeneration

灌注成像使我们能够测量血液输送到大脑在保持其营养供应和废物清除方面所发挥的重要作用。血液供应与正常情况的任何偏差都可能是疾病的征兆。特别是灌注的早期和细微变化可能会在其他成像迹象变得明显之前标记出受退行性疾病（如痴呆）影响的大脑区域。该技术存在并且越来越广泛地用于使用磁共振成像快速安全地成像灌注。因此，灌注磁共振成像可能是一个有价值的工具，在了解痴呆症，以及诊断和监测痴呆症患者。仍然存在的挑战是对血液供应的细微变化进行足够具体的测量，这是使该技术真正对患者有用所必需的。该项目以三种方式解决了这一问题：>自动消除与不完美测量相关的错误，例如由于患者的运动。控制患者之间因其个体脑结构而产生的差异的方法，允许在个体之间或从患者到类似健康成人群体的血液供应测量进行比较。这些方法消除了个体大脑之间与灌注无关的其他差异所引入的不确定性。为单个患者生成个性化的参考灌注图像，并与测量的灌注图像进行比较，以检测该个体的特定变化。该项目中生成的方法和工具将使灌注磁共振成像能够更有效地用于英国范围内了解痴呆症的努力，并寻找新的有效治疗方法。最终，该项目所做的工作将使灌注磁共振成像成为一种有价值的临床工具，可用于诊断和监测痴呆症患者。

Perfusion imaging allows us to measure the vital role played by delivery of blood to the brain in keeping it supplied with nutrients and removal of waste. Any deviations of the blood supply from normal can be a sign of disease. In particular early and subtle changes in perfusion might mark regions of the brain which are affected by degenerative diseases such as dementia before other imaging signs become obvious.The technology exists and is increasingly widely available to image perfusion quickly and safely using Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Thus perfusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging could be a valuable tool in the understanding of dementias, as well as the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with dementia. The challenge that remains is making sufficiently specific measurements of subtle changes in blood supply that would be needed to make the technology truly useful for patients. This project addresses that problem in three ways:> Automated removal of errors associated with imperfect measurement, for example due to motion of the patient.> Methods to control for differences between patients due to their individual brain structure, allowing blood supply measurements to be compared between individuals or from a patient to a population of similar healthy adults. These methods remove uncertainties introduced by other differences between the brain's of individuals that are not related to perfusion.> Generation of personalised reference perfusion images for an individual patient against which their measured perfusion can be compared to detect changes specific to that individual.The methods and tools that are to be generated in this project will enable perfusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging to be used more effectively in the UK-wide effort to understand dementia and in the search for new and effective treatments. Ultimately the work done in this project will enable perfusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging to become a valuable clinical tool that can be used in the diagnosis and monitoring of individual patients with dementia.